OTTAWA—Justin Trudeau has said that his Liberal party needs a full “reboot.”

On Thursday night, in Montreal to kick off the first gathering of the party since he became leader 10 months ago, Trudeau will spell out the shape of the overhaul he’s seeking.

He’ll be talking about putting a new and younger face on a party he wants to portray in sharp contrast to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s “tired” Conservative government, according to Trudeau’s advisers.

Officially, the approximately 3,000 people gathering in Montreal are there for a biennial policy convention, but “strategy” is at the top of Liberals’ minds too, according to the agenda.

No fewer than 10 of the policy resolutions up for debate revolve around demands for a national “strategy” — everything from transportation to manufacturing to child care. The speakers’ list is also filled with advisers on campaign strategy, including people who helped Barack Obama get elected as U.S. president.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne will speak to the crowd, as well as Liberals premiers Robert Ghiz from Prince Edward Island and Stephen McNeil from Nova Scotia.

Trudeau’s critics, especially the Conservatives, have been hammering him for having no policy. In a strategy memo obtained by the Star this month, the Conservatives laid out ways to disrupt the convention, among them taking photos of Trudeau posing for photos in Montreal to show he wasn’t interested in policy discussions on the convention floor.

Liberals, however, say the Montreal convention marks the beginning of real, platform-building for the 2015 election and that Trudeau’s two speeches — on Thursday night and on Saturday afternoon — will set the broad terms for the policy to be unveiled when the next campaign rolls around.

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.